The thrum of the machine, or The beautiful irreducibility of character

In this episode Dara explores the concept of character and how its uncovering might lie at the heart of true strength, happiness and resilience. He places it in firm counterpoint to the litany of reductive names, labels and titles and other identifiers we have put on us. That prompts a reflection on the tyranny of the word 'Mother'.

Drawing inspiration from Joan Didion and a key principle of traditional karate, Dara argues that character enables us to be better, more selfless human beings.

There are also some thoughts about what we hang our personalities on, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, the importance of saying goodbye and An American Werewolf in London - even though he was convinced he hadn't referenced any movies!

Joan Didion's essay on Self-Respect: https://www.vogue.com/article/joan-didion-self-respect-essay-1961

Karate dojo kun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dj%C5%8D_kun

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